Beavers, Rebels start new rivalry

September 2, 2010

Separated by just about 11 miles, Crestview and Beaver Local have never met on the football field.

To put it another way, Beaver Local has played every other Columbiana County school in football at one time or another except Crestview.

This will all change on Friday when the Rebels visit the Beavers and both schools are excited about it.

"Just like the game we played last week against East Liverpool, there are a lot of connections in this one," Beaver Local coach Rich Wright said. "There are a lot of families who have people living in both districts."

This includes Wright who lives in the Crestview district. Not only that, but he lives on the same road as Rebel coach Paul Cusick. Oh, and his wife is a Crestview graduate. And to top it off, a niece dates Rebel quarterback Carter Hill.

"This makes sense," Wright said. "We are close and this is good for the county. For us, it gives us a chance to be in the limelight a bit since we've fallen out of it the last couple years. It also gives a chance to make some money at the gate."

The contract is for four years, so this may turn into a full-blown rivalry instead of just a novelty.

"There's a lot of crossover between the two schools in the community, so I think it has a chance to be one of those special rivalries," Crestview coach Paul Cusick said. "It's long overdue and it's a good game for the county."

Cusick said that there has been a lot of chatter in the lockerroom over this one since a lot of the players hang out or know one another.

"Some of them hung out at the fair," Cusick said.

As for this first time, both teams come in following losses in the openers. The Beavers falling to the rival Potters and Crestview losing on the road to St. Clairsville.

"It's definitely an important game coming off a loss like that," Cusick said. "We don't think we really played well. We felt like we really made a lot of uncharacteristic mistakes. We didn't execute real well."

East Palestine at Wellsville

It didn't take long for Wellsville coach Dave Skinner to come up with a nickname for the freshmen that played a big role in the stunning come-from-behind 13-12 victory over Toronto last Thursday.

"We call them the young and the restless," Skinner said.

Skinner said four freshman played a significant role in turning what looked to be a certain loss in the third quarter into a victory.

"That was the most emotion I've ever seen a Wellsville team play with since I've been here," Skinner said. "The kids just flat out refused to lose."

He said both touchdowns were scored by senior players who had torn ligaments in their legs. The last was a blocked punt return by Joe Hall in the dying seconds of the game.

"They've both have been to the doctor and have been fitted with braces, so they should be good to go," Skinner said. "We're actually in much better shape physically than we were before we canceled that scrimmage with Crestview."

Skinner said he doesn't know what to make of East Palestine. He said the Southern game was one of contrasting styles, but he said he does respect the Bulldogs' speed.

"They have the ability to move the ball pretty well," Skinner said.

Other games of note

South Range at Campbell: Call it part two of the former Mahoning Valley Conference castoffs tour. After a win against Warren JFK last week, Raiders get a bigger test this time around. This is the Raiders' first trip to John Knapick Field, but the Red Devils are feeling good after a win over Mineral Ridge last week.

Springfield at Youngstown Christian: Springfield should keep things going after an opening upset of McDonald.